Susan Loveridge filled out the Your Live Theater Story Form.  You can too by clicking here.

1. What was the FIRST play you ever saw?: Gypsy with Ethel Merman and Jack Klugman. I was 11 years old and the show began my love affair with theatre, sparking my desire to be an actress.

2. What makes you LAUGH and CRY in a theater?: Human connections–made and lost.

3. Who is your favorite THEATER ACTOR?: Beth Mulkerron, for many reasons.

4. Has theater ever CHANGED your perspective? Your life?: Life-changing…see number 1. Perspective…I think my mind is opened a bit more with every production I see.

What is your FAVORITE PLAY? Where did you see it? Why is it your favorite?: The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer. A world premiere at Cincinnati’s Playhouse in the Park, it simply took me by surprise with both its thought-provoking content and the fascinating production choices made to tell the story.

6. Why THEATER?: Within an hour of my first trip to New York City, in the middle of a warm afternoon, a stage hand pulled a few volunteers into the theatre where Into the Woods was playing. Bodies were needed to fill the seats for the taping of that week’s Tony Award excerpt. As I sat in that darkened theatre watching take after take, I realized that when the overture begins–for any musical theatre production–I feel more fully alive than when I’m doing anything else, as if the music itself has replaced the blood coursing through my veins. I fill my life with volunteer theatre activity in my community because I am passionate about its potential for soul-deep connections–to each other and to our own humanity. I want to ensure that future generations are offered the same artistic opportunities that have shaped and blessed my life.

This post was submitted by Susan Loveridge.